25 Ways to Tell if You’re a Graphic Designer
You know you’re a graphic designer when…
Design is Not a Commodity
Unfortunately for me and my fellow designers, graphic design just happens to be one of those things that are starting to be considered a commodity. Which would be fine, but of course, it isn’t actually a commodity.
Why Good Design Matters
Have you ever gone to a website or picked up a business card from a new company only to find yourself dissatisfied or uninterested? Me too. Which got me thinking… there’s a lot of talk about what you need to do to create a killer website, or a great logo. But why does good design even matter? Why do you need it? I’ll tell you why. There’s an intangible value to good graphic design. It’s more than getting…
8 Reasons Why Design Contests Are Bad for Clients
Last week we talked about the dangers of design contests for designers, which are usually pretty obvious. But for the clients that actually get work done from them, the dangers can be a little more elusive. If you are the owner of a start-up, or simply don’t know where to turn to find a decent design, I’m sure the allure of design contests sound pretty sweet. Heck, they sure market them enough to push anyone’s…
Who Owns the Rights to Your Design Work?
So you’ve just gotten a killer brochure designed. You can’t wait to print it and start using it. But you’re also thinking long term…what if, in a few months, some of the information needs to be changed? So you decide to ask the designer for the native or source files (i.e. the program that the file was originally built in, and is editable). And they happily say…no. Wait, what??
How to Give Your Graphic Designer Feedback in 11 Easy Steps
A couple weeks ago, we were talking about how your designer is not an order taker. I made a pretty convincing case as to why, as the client, you should refrain from telling your graphic designer how to do their job. But of course we’re now all wondering, when and how should you offer feedback? If at all? Rest assured, I think it’s perfectly fine and healthy for a client to provide constructive feedback in…
5 Freelancer Myths
As a freelance graphic designer, I’ve come across a few myths in regards to my chosen profession. People seem to have some understandable, and sometimes strange, objections or concerns to hiring a freelancer. Hopefully this should clear some of those up.
7 Things Game of Thrones Taught Me About Branding and Marketing
As a graphic designer who dabbles in marketing and branding, I’m always on the lookout for new inspiration. I never thought I’d find it watching GoT, but the more I studied the plot and characters, the more I realized that it had more in common with solid marketing principles than I had previously thought. *spoiler alert The following assumes you are a fan of Game of Thrones, and have at least watched through Season…
Why I Renamed My Design Business
Introducing…Apex Creative Hi all! To my loyal followers and fans, thank you for all of your continued support, and for your interest in what I’ve been up to. As you may be wondering, why the heck would I change my business name now? Especially as my brand equity has grown and organic search results are up. All I can say it, it’s been a long time coming. Ever since I started freelancing, I’ve struggled with…
The 10 Logo Commandments
What makes a good logo? When we’re talking about good logo design versus bad logo design, it’s helpful to know what we’re talking about exactly. If you ask 10 different designers what qualifies as a good logo, you’ll likely get 10 different answers. But if you keep digging, eventually you’ll start hearing a lot of the same thing being said.